The Niagara Region Health and Wellness Expo hosted a variety of speakers and exhibitors who offered natural and healthy life choices.

It was the fifth year for the free, all-day event, held Saturday at Croatian National Home in Welland.

Event founder and owner of Rosemary’s Natural Choices Joe Horvat said as many as 1,500 people would visit the event, with about 300 people in the building at any given time as people came and went throughout the day.

Five speakers covered topics such as healthy fats, aging and the effects of harmful drugs. Horvat said the goal each year is to get the best of the best in the industry to come to the event, share information and answer questions people may have about various things.

The speakers are different every year, too, he said. That’s done in an effort to keep things fresh for repeat visitors.

Twenty-seven exhibitors had tables set up with information, products, samples and people ready to share about their product or services. Many of them, he said, featured wholesale supplements, vitamins and minerals.

Horvat described it as a “consumer awareness show.” The goal is to help people know what they’re dealing with when they want to use these kinds of supplements and how to avoid the ones that might not be so good for them.

He said the event keeps growing each year, drawing people in from neighbouring cities in Niagara and from municipalities beyond Niagara’s borders, such as Guelph and Chatham.

What keeps bringing people back year after year, he said, is the fact that the event is free and because of how well organized and put together it is. The expert speakers and the information they can share is also a big draw for people.

He said there are similar shows in Toronto, but he said those aren’t free.